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16 March 2012

Two Tales of Mass Housing in Marseille - La Tourette and La Rouvière

In the previous post I have already pointed out
that Marseille is somewhat different from other French cities when it comes to
mass (social) housing. Through their spread of grands ensembles all over the city, ghettoization of the poor is
limited which furthermore might be part of the reason why Marseille was not so
much affected by uprisings and riots in recent years despite the cities diverse
population structure.

As the second Marseille post I would like
to juxtapose two typical housing situations of the city: One is the ensemble of
La Tourette in immediate proximity of
the Old Port in the city centre and La
Rouvière on the city’s fringes of the southern mountains.

La Tourette:

La Tourette viewed from the Old Port

In 1943, the German military, aided by the
Vichy regime, cleared thousands of people from the twisting lanes of the old
port, deported thousands to concentration camps and dynamited at leas 15000
buildings. The intent was to cripple the resistance based in the narrow streets
of Le Panier and the dockside. Vast areas of the city structure got
destroyed during WW II. After the war a shortage of housing prepared the ground
for high-rise mass housing structures to get erected. La Tourette is one of the most prominent of those examples. It’s
tower is significant for Marseilles skyline. The housings blocks were built
between 1949 and 1953 and were designed by local architects Fernand Pouillon and
René Egger.

Its four buildings, the tallest of which is
a 21-storey tower block were built using precast concrete decks with cross
walls in shuttered concrete and outside walls made thicker with stone casing.
It was to become a much-imitated system as France and Europe were rebuilt after
the war since it became a new model of economical housing (minimal
constructions costs, highly efficient insulation scheme). At that time the
building was famous for the lowest costs per square meter.

Meanwhile the ensemble is well integrated
in Marseille’s city-scape. I was not able to find out about the social mix
within the housing scheme. Nevertheless it is still a rare example of a large
scale social housing projects within the city center.

La Tourette

La Tourette Tower

La Rouvière:

La Rouvière at the far back, seen from Unité d'Habitation

Inside La Rouvière

In stark contrast to La Tourette is the area of La
Rouvière south of the city centre. I took notice of the area since the huge
tower blocks are well visible from many viewpoints of the city. Seen from afar,
these tower blocks are so incredible in size that I got very curious to visit.
In anticipation of a typical banlieue
quarter known from the suburbs of Paris I arrived there and I experienced
something completely different. In fact La
Rouvière is a sort of upper middle class (almost) gated community-like
fortress of high standard living with beautiful views on the city and the deep
blue Côte d’Azur. Coming from the city centre with it’s heterogeneous
appearance, the power of difference was completely lost in La Rouvière. Not only that the income structure is levelled, also
the age structure appears to be very homogeneous: I would inhabitants are 60
years and above; a paradise for well-off elderly on the probably a few degrees
cooler hillside. Built at a time were racial and inequality tensions were frequent
in the city of Marseille, La Rouvière
has provided a save haven on the city’s fringe, far away from the crime ridden
centre. By 1971 the tower blocks were built on a 13 hectares hillside site and
are housing approximately 3000 residents. One tower, three straight and three
kinked blocks are built on a site which drops 80 metres. The massive Super-Rouvière housing block stands
proud on top of the hill. In between the blocks streets are looping upwards. In
some areas small parks find a space to settle within the 25 storey buildings. A
small local centre houses a supermarket, a café and a pharmacy. A graveyard and
a private hospital are in close proximity. For residents, the primary modes of
transport are cars as the quarter is poorly connected to the city’s public transport
system. The architect Roul Guyot has designed an impressive almost utopian
fortress that withdraws from any comparison within the city. La Rouvière appears to be a city
quarter, which is also very unique in Europe and is reminiscent of well known
high-density gated communities in the suburbs of megacities in Asia or Latin
America.

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The city is made up of assemblages built of heterogeneous networks and associations. Multiple and overlapping enactments constitute urban life as a synchronous city.SYNCHRONICITY is a blog excavating these networks and setting them in relationship to each other. SYNCHRONICITYunderstands itself as an extended platform sharing myriad approaches in urbanism, landscape and architecture.